Workplace air quality has been a contentious topic for a few years now, since the pandemic began and people became very concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in indoor public areas and communal spaces. Truthfully, the air quality of indoor workplaces was already important, as it’s something that affects the health and productivity of all employees, but now, air quality is something that can easily affect employee health and seriously disrupt operations and productivity.
The good thing is that it’s not very difficult to improve the air quality of indoor workplaces. The attention that the pandemic brought to indoor air quality seemed to bring about the innovation of technologies and other air quality apparatus. Here are five tips to improve indoor workplace air quality – all you need to do is determine what’s right for your workplace:
Clean/Replace Filters (HVAC Maintenance)
Routine maintenance of your workplace’s HVAC system, vents, vent covers, and filters is crucial in improving indoor workplace air quality. Chances are your HVAC system needs service, your vents and vent covers can use immediate cleaning, and its filters need to be replaced!
Air Purifiers
Air purifiers are useful in purifying and improving the indoor air quality of spaces in their immediate vicinity. This guide by the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, provides more information on how air purifier technology does so. It’s important to note that filters need to be regularly replaced to maintain CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) over time.
Dust & Vacuum
Dust and other fine particles are the most common contaminants of air quality as germs, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens attach to and easily spread through the air with dust. This is why it’s important to routinely dust all surfaces and regularly vacuum your floors – especially those hard-to-reach surfaces and high-traffic areas. Such routine maintenance will dramatically improve indoor workplace air quality.
Open Windows
Even when it’s cold outside, regularly opening the windows around your workplace is both an important and easy way to improve air quality. Opening windows (and doors) increases ventilation and allows fresh outdoor air to more easily flow through your workplace. If it’s too cold to do so during business hours, you may want to consider arranging to do so after business hours. There’s a reason pandemic regulations applied to indoor places – outdoor air quality has renewable qualities.
Invest in Plants
It may or may not come as a weird tip to get and spread plants around your indoor workplace in order to improve air quality, but here we are. Plants are the most natural method of air quality improvement, indoor or otherwise. If you didn’t pay attention in science class growing up, through photosynthesis, plants clean the air by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. They also look nice.
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As you can see, improving indoor workplace air quality is rather simple, and requires discipline more than additional resources. To learn more about how to improve indoor workplace air quality, visit our website or contact us today!
